Irrelevant
by Rose-Divine
Summary: In which Naomi witnesses a homosexual kiss and Seven studies love. Bad description alert! Sorry!


Disclaimer: I own nada but all seven seasons in the format that they were released in overseas.

Authur's Notes: This is the first Voyager fic that I've done that isn't whatmy friend SwiftSilver calls "pure humor". It isn't humor at all. I don't know if homosexuality is accepted in the future when Voyager takes place, but I thought of this and doodled it up. Originally, Seven said the last spoken line. I love how she says " is irrelevant"! They're kind of OOC and I hope that it's not too boring. In other notes, I was ill when I edited it, so I'm sorry if I messed it up horribly.

**Irrelevant**

Naomi hadn't meant to walk in on Ensign Lowell and Ensign Browning. She hadn't known, when she had summoned the turbolift, that they were already inside. So, when the doors opened, she wasn't at all prepared for what she saw.

What she did see was Ensign Charlie Lowell pushing Ensign Jon Browning up against the wall of the turbolift as they groped each other and kissed passionately. She must have stood in the doorway for a full minute, but neither of them looked up. Quietly, Naomi slipped away and looked for another way to get to the messhall.

She didn't tell anyone what she had seen until that night, when she asked her mother, "Mom, can two guys kiss?"

Sam Wildman pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "Why do you ask, sweetheart?"

Naomi just shrugged. Sam sighed. "Yes, Naomi, they can. It's called homosexuality, and it's widely considered a sin. Did you see two men kissing today?"

Naomi shrugged again. Her mother patted her knee. "Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears." Then she left, and Neelix came in and told Naomi her bedtime story. Naomi never asked her mother about homosexuality again. However, she also never forgot about Ensigns Lowell and Browning.

After that day, Naomi watched the people around her carefully. She watched the Ensigns especially, and she wished that she could tell them that their secret was safe with her, that she didn't care that they were both men. Maybe then, they wouldn't have to hide. Maybe then, they could kiss in the messhall like Tom and B'Elanna, and no one would care except for the people who were sticklers for regulations and the people who hated mushy things anyway.

A few weeks after she saw that kiss, Naomi went to Astrometrics to see Seven, who had promised to show her the most recent scans of the new area that the ship had recently entered. When she entered, she found her friend standing in front of a console, a long list of 20th century movie titles displayed in front of her.

"Naomi Wildman," Seven said calmly. "You are exactly six minutes and thirty-five seconds early for our meeting."

"What are you looking at, Seven?" Naomi asked, standing on her tiptoes as she tried to see.

"I am having trouble forming human relationships. The Doctor suggested that I make an investigative study of relationships, and especially 'love'."

Naomi brightened. "Like when you observed Tom and B'Elanna that one time and B'Elanna got really upset?"

If Seven hadn't been famed for her lack of emotions, the look that she sent the young girl could have been described as bordering on extreme annoyance. "Yes. Like that. This time, however, I am studying movies. Lieutenant Paris suggested several. I must admit, however, that I fail to see the point."

"The point of what?"

"Love is a chemical reaction, Naomi. It is not needed for reproduction, nor is it vital for survival. Love, in all its states, is basically irrelevant."

"But... Tom and B'Elanna are in love, and they seem so much happier now," Naomi said slowly, considering Seven's words.

"They could have become happy without each other. One of them could leave, and then the other would be stranded. They would become unhappy. Work makes one happy, and work is less likely to abandon the worker," Seven pointed out brusquely.

"I... guess... that makes sense." Naomi paused before asking her next questions. "Seven, what kinds of love are there? Is love ever wrong?"

Seven looked at Naomi. "According to my research, there are two kinds main kinds of love between people- heterosexuality and homosexuality. The first is the coupling of a woman and a man, and the second-"

"Is between two guys," the girl finished. "Is that a sin?"

"Sin is irrelevant. It is a human word, created as part of a human code of contact based on fears and misunderstandings," Seven said coolly. When Naomi opened her mouth to respond, Seven predicted her next question and continued. "Other acts that are considered sins, such as murder, are simply unproductive. Love is also unproductive, but murder is usually even more so. Two infatuated workers can be reprogrammed and forced to work. A dead one cannot. Death is unproductive."

"So... love is unproductive, but not wrong?"

"Most of the things done in life are done out of foolishness, and much of that foolishness comes from love. It caused the demise of Romeo and Juliet, the downfall of King Arthur, and the exile of Adam and Eve. In real life, there are many more examples."

"That doesn't answer my question, Seven," Naomi said, tapping her foot.

"Love is not 'wrong' in the sinful form of the word, no," Seven finally said.

"So two guys loving each other isn't wrong?"

"In that light, no." Seven tapped a command, and a 3-D rendition of two men appeared on the screen. "Alexander the Great was well-known for his love of the man Hephaiston, and Achilles loved his friend Patroklos. They both did great things, in human eyes, and neither was convicted for their love."

"Then why can't Ensign-" Naomi caught herself and cut off her question, blushing slightly.

Seven raised one immaculate eyebrow. "Have you witnessed a homosexual relationship aboard Voyager, Naomi?"

Silently, Naomi nodded.

"What did your mother think about that?"

"She said that it was a sin."

"Despite what she may think- and I am not saying that she is wrong- each and every kind of love is nothing more than a hormonal reaction. Everything else is based on interpretation."

She turned back to the screen and they watched it silently. They gazed at the two men just standing there, each waiting for a lover who would never come.

"Perhaps," said Naomi quietly, "Gender is irrelevant."

Seven just nodded.


End file.
